TargetOfOpportunity.com

Andrew Stepanian

Andrew Stepanian is an animal rights terrorist who was convicted of smashing the windows of a fur store on Long Island, New York. In typical activist fashion, while he was awaiting sentencing Stepanian distributed a letter over the Internet calling on animal rights activists to engage in acts of violence and property destruction in solidarity with him.

Aside from the flawed Liberal Free Speech theory that states vandalism equals free speech, why not send Andy Stepanian a letter telling him exactly how you feel about acts of terrorism? Letters to Stepanian should be sent to:

Andrew Stepanian was convicted on a charge of conspiracy to violate the Animal Enterprise Protection Act while a member of the SHAC-7. They operated a website that advanced terrorism and helped to spread it via communiqués. In the process, families were targeted and threats were made.

His friends would like everyone to believe that he was serving three years in prison for organizing and attending animal rights protests, and the Earth First! Journal, a radical environmental magazine in financial crisis. Such is not the case. He is currently serving a three year sentence in FCI Butner Medium II Federal Correctional Institution in Butner, NC for conspiracy to violate the Animal Enterprise Protection Act.

The following is a statement that Andy Stepanian made to the court as best recalled by himself and his support committee.

"Your honor, I was advised by my attorney that I should use this opportunity to make a statement to this court regarding this aforementioned case. With that, I would like to take this opportunity to say something sincere and constructive."

"There are very few things in this world that bother me more than animal cruelty, sexual violence, child abuse and racism."

"Our society suffers from an illness, an illness with symptoms that narrow our vision, and polarize our moral constructs into 'us and them' and 'black and white'. Often society commits its most heinous acts when people view the world as black and white, with no recognition of grays. This narrow world view is apparent in modern situations like America's public debate over the efficacy of torture, a crime against humanity that is so morally bankrupt that its proponents suffer from the most acute stage of this aforementioned illness, with a world view limited only to the 'us vs. them' and the 'black & white'."

"I believe that the prevention of the animal cruelty perpetrated by Huntingdon Life Sciences is a most noble cause, but despite its nobility its advocates should not revert to a narrow sight that dilutes and erodes its moral high ground."

There is right and wrong in this world. When you start accepting shades of gray, you start allowing illegal activity.

"This case and this trial was a learning experience for me. Through testimony in this trial I learned about events and activities alleged to have been done in the name of animal liberation that disturbed me..."

Who would have imagined that threatening people and their families would have negative consequences? Who would have imagined that these people might be afraid? That is what you call terror.

"Though I and my co-defendants had no knowledge or connection to these events, I would like to make a personal apology in response to the following testimonials."

"Through testimony I learned about a man who was afraid to take his son to the park to see the dogs. No one should deny someone their time with child. To that individual and his son I would like to say sorry."

"Through testimony I learned of a woman who had her intimates posted on and sold on eBay. There is no excuse for any sexual threat, ever. I am ashamed that anyone would commit such an act. To that woman I would like to say that I am sorry."

This is standard operating policy along with ordering magazine subscriptions, breaking into automobiles, identity theft, and posting communiqués on direct actions against the families and children. You are not sorry about anything, these were your objectives.

"Through testimony I learned about people who were the focus animal welfare protests who had children with special needs like autism who could have been potentially scared by related situations. No child should ever be scared. To those families I would like to say sorry."

Yet, that is exactly what you did. You support people and groups that target children. How is this not an act of terrorism? Do not say that you do not support terrorism because that is exactly what you are doing!

"Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to my family, my friends, my loved ones, and to the hundreds of supporters who have shared in my grief during the duration of this trail. To all of you I would like to say sorry."

You were not thinking about them when you were supporting attacks on other families, were you?

"As for myself, I would like to thank your honor and thank Mr. McKenna for allowing me to continue on with and ultimately graduate college while on house arrest. I understand that your honor will be sentencing me to jail, and even with that eventuality I plan to continue my education after my release with pursuit of a master's degree and assistant professorship at the University of California."

So as a punishment, you are able to finish your Master's degree paid for by the taxpayers in hopes of obtaining an assistant professorship. That is one way of making sure you learned your lesson. How long will it be before you once again openly begin your support of terrorism?

In two recent e-mails to this website received in August 2010, here are quotes showing Andy Stepanian's true character.

Andrew Stepanian is nothing more than a dangerous and selfish individual that has no respect others. Destruction of property belonging to others is deemed a proper and moral act by him. The rights of others are of no importance.

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Seven Animal Rights Advocates Arrested

By ROBERT HANLEY

Published: May 27, 2004

NEWARK, May 26 - Seven animal rights advocates were arrested on Wednesday on charges of trying to disrupt the work of a New Jersey pharmaceutical testing company and threatening its employees and those of six companies doing business with it, the authorities said.

Those arrested were identified by the authorities as two officials of an animal rights group, Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, and five associates. From October 2001 to February of this year, Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, recruited sympathizers online to vandalize property at the homes of employees of the pharmaceutical company, Huntingdon Life Sciences of East Millstone, near Princeton, and of the other companies, said Christopher J. Christie, the United States attorney for New Jersey.

In its drug testing, Huntingdon Life Sciences, a British firm, mainly uses dogs, primates and rats, Mr. Christie said. He said all tests were required and approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

He said the group posted, as part of the campaign, what it called the "top 20 terror tactics" to be used against companies and individuals, including invading offices, chaining gates shut, writing graffiti on cars and houses, flooding houses with garden hoses, smashing windows and sending defective e-mail messages in attempts to disrupt computers.

In addition, he said, the group often posted on its Web site the names and ages of employees' spouses and children and the names of the children's schools and various athletic fields where they were scheduled to play.

Mr. Christie denounced that tactic as among the group's most reprehensible.

"Their business, quite frankly, is thuggery and intimidation," Mr. Christie said at a news conference at his office here. "Our goal is to remove uncivilized people from civilized society."

He said F.B.I. agents arrested the seven at their homes on Long Island and in New Jersey, Seattle and Pinole, Calif., near San Francisco. Those apprehended in Pinole were identified as the group's president, Kevin Kjonaas, 26, who also uses the last name Jonas; its campaign coordinator, Lauren Gazzola, 25; and Jacob Conroy, 28, who the indictment said was affiliated with the group.

Those arrested in New Jersey were Darius Fullmer, 27, of Hamilton, and John McGee, 25, of Edison, both identified as associates. Two others, Andrew Stepanian, 25, of Lloyd Neck, N.Y., and Joshua Harper, 29, of Seattle, were arrested at their homes.

The indictment accuses all seven suspects of engaging in a conspiracy to violate a federal law that bans terrorism against animal enterprises, Mr. Christie said. The charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

In addition, Mr. Kjonaas, Mr. Conroy and Ms. Gazzola are accused of interstate stalking, or using the Internet illegally to instill fear, in three individuals who were identified only by initials. They also faced conspiracy charges in connection with interstate stalking. Each of those counts has a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Mr. Fullmer, Mr. McGee and Mr. Stepanian were released on bonds of $50,000 each after appearances late Wednesday afternoon in United States District Court here. Mr. Christie said the other suspects were scheduled for court hearings Wednesday in federal courts in Seattle and San Francisco.

A court-appointed lawyer for Mr. Stepanian, John C. Whipple, said his client planned to plead not guilty at his arraignment, scheduled for June 15.

"He maintains his innocence," Mr. Whipple said. "Any activity he engaged in was lawful and was within his First Amendment rights." Mr. Whipple said he believed that Mr. Stepanian was now studying at C. W. Post University on Long Island.

Andrew Stepanian's brother John said in a telephone interview Wednesday that Andrew was an instructor on environmental issues in a special-education program in Nassau County. He also said his brother was active in a group called Food Not Bombs, which collects food for the needy from local stores and distributes it on weekends.

"He's a very peaceful person," John Stepanian said of his brother.

Donald J. McCauley, a lawyer who was assigned to represent both Mr. McGee and Mr. Fullmer for Wednesday's hearing, said both men maintained their innocence. Mr. Fullmer was identified as a paramedic during the hearing. A woman at the hearing who identified herself only as Mr. McGee's mother said he was attending law school. She refused to speak further.

The Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty group began its operations in Britain in 1999 and moved to the United States in 2001, maintaining an office until recently in Franklin Township, about 10 miles east of the research and testing lab. F.B.I. agents raided the building in April 2003 as part of the investigation that produced the indictment.

On its Web site, the group likens its activities to the Underground Railroad and the Boston Tea Party, and advocates protests, letter-writing, and what it calls publicity stunts to disrupt Huntingdon Life Sciences.

"SHAC is an uncompromising and unapologetic campaign to 'abolish' the hell that is H.L.S.," the Web site says.

A spokeswoman for the group, Andrea Lindsay, called the indictment "completely unfounded" and described the group's Web site as "basically a newsletter." She said the group often posted information about illegal activities by sympathizers. "We don't condemn it, but we don't participate," Ms. Lindsay said.

She also said that only Mr. Kjonaas and Ms. Gazzola were members of the group. The five others, she said, support its cause but do not represent it.

A spokesman for the company, Mike Caulfield, declined to say if it had lost money because of the animal rights group's three-year campaign. "We're profitable, but we've had to work harder than our competition to achieve it," he said.

Janon Fisher and Stacy Albin contributed reporting for this article.

UPDATEUPDATE UPDATE

Andy Stepanian was released from prison on 18 December 2008. He was sent to a halfway house in New York and will be able to return home in the coming months.